The National Insurance Department is putting measures in place to ensure that all unemployment claims being submitted during this period can be processed in a timely manner.
The assurance has come from Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Ryan Straughn. He made the comments in a press conference yesterday morning via zoom conferencing, as he said that the department has done this in anticipation of the increase in the unemployment claims that will be made, as a result of the downturn in business due to the coronavirus.
Among the measures, he said, is the ability to submit those claims by email or to place them in the drop boxes situated at the E. Humphrey Walcott Building. This, he explained, is to reduce a physical presence in that office space. He said once those claims are submitted, the goal is to process them “as fast as is humanly possible” so that person can have access to needed finances.
“The NIS has issued certain guidelines for their staff in terms of how they would operate. Even though they are operating on a skeletal staff with respect to some of their people, in terms of potentially working in shifts to be able to manage that process, they have made those provisions and the intention is to have those claims processed as quickly as possible so that those persons can get the monies,” Minister Straughn said.
When submitting claims by email, Straughn said it is imperative that the documentation is clear and legible. With that in mind, he noted that there are scanning apps that persons can download to their devices to help with that process.
Additionally, Straughn said that other persons accessing benefits from the National Insurance, such as pensioners, can also submit information, including their banking or credit union details, digitally so that they can have those benefits lodged in their accounts. This would ensure that they do not have to leave home to cash a cheque, especially given that the hours of operations of the financial institutions will be reduced over the next few weeks. (JRT)